I often speak to new and potential AWS customers in our EBC (Executive Briefing Center) in Seattle. The vast majority of them have already bought in to the promise of the cloud and are already making plans that involve a combination of “lifting and shifting” existing applications and building new, cloud-native ones. Because their move to AWS is often part of a larger organizational transformation and modernization, the senior leaders that I talk to want to make sure that their technical team is properly equipped to skillfully design, build, and operate cloud-powered systems.

Many of these customers are taking advantage of the AWS Enterprise Support plan as they move their mission-critical applications to the cloud. Like traditional support plans, this one provides access to technical support people and resources in the event that an issue surfaces. However, unlike traditional plans, it also focuses on helping them to build applications that are robust, cost-effective, easily maintained, and scalable. Our customers tell me that they enjoy the unique combination of hands-on, concierge-quality support and the automated, data-driven recommendations provided to them by AWS Trusted Advisor.

New Enterprise Support Benefits Today we are making the AWS Enterprise Support Plan even better, adding three new benefits that are available to new and existing plan subscribers at no additional charge:

Training Credits – In conjunction with our training partner qwikLabs, each Enterprise Support customer is entitled to receive 500 qwikLabs training credits annually, along with a 30% discount on additional credits. The qwikLabs courses address a wide range of AWS topics; introductory courses are free and the remainder cost between 1 and 15 credits each (read the course catalog to learn more):

If you have an Enterprise Support plan and would like to gain access to your credits and discounts, please contact your AWS Technical Account Manager (TAM).

Cloud Operations Review – Enterprise Support customers are eligible for a Cloud Operations Review designed to help them to identify gaps in their approach to operating in the cloud. Originating from a set of operational best practices distilled from our experience with a large set of representative customers, this program provides you with a review of your cloud operations and the associated management practices. The program uses a four-pillared approach with a focus on preparing, monitoring, operating, and optimizing cloud-based systems in pursuit of operational excellence.

You can work with your TAM to set up a Cloud Operations Review.

Well-Architected Review – Enterprise Support customers are also eligible for a Well-Architected Review of their mission-critical workloads. While the Cloud Operations Review focuses on people and processes, this review allows our customers to measure their architecture against AWS best practices. Our goal is to help our customers to construct architectures that are secure, reliable, performance, and cost-effective. For more information about our Well-Architected program, read Are You Well-Architected?